Nikita Robb from East London has won the Ballito Women's Pro presented by Billabong at Willard Beach in KwaDukuza, producing an assured performance in the tricky 1-meter waves.
A World Surf League (WSL) Qualifying Series (QS) 1,000 event, the Ballito Women's Pro is the first internationally-rated women's event to be run in South Africa since 2009.
Robb, who competed on the elite Championship Tour (CT) in 2010, defeated Fay Zoetmulder (Port Elizabeth), local junior Teal Hogg (Umhlanga) and veteran Heather Clark (Port Shepstone) in the Final to claim the R10,000 winner's purse and 1,000 points.
"It's been a long time since I surfed an event and I really had to get my head into it," Robb said. "I started in Round 1 and had to surf four heats, so I worked hard for it. It wasn't just a matter of one day and I'm getting 10 grand. It was a matter of me putting the effort in the water, spending endless hours being the only girl out there and really getting to know the wave. I put the effort in and that's what really counts."
History was made at the event when 16-year-old Samukeliswe Cele (Durban) became the first female Zulu surfer to compete in a WSL event. Cele showed plenty of potential and finished third in her Quarterfinal.
"I'm grateful, excited and it was kind of nerve-wracking," Cele said. "I'm no pro and I was very nervous but I knew I could do something out there because I'm good surfer also."
Robb Wins Ballito Women's Pro
WSL
Nikita Robb from East London has won the Ballito Women's Pro presented by Billabong at Willard Beach in KwaDukuza, producing an assured performance in the tricky 1-meter waves.
A World Surf League (WSL) Qualifying Series (QS) 1,000 event, the Ballito Women's Pro is the first internationally-rated women's event to be run in South Africa since 2009.
Robb, who competed on the elite Championship Tour (CT) in 2010, defeated Fay Zoetmulder (Port Elizabeth), local junior Teal Hogg (Umhlanga) and veteran Heather Clark (Port Shepstone) in the Final to claim the R10,000 winner's purse and 1,000 points.
"It's been a long time since I surfed an event and I really had to get my head into it," Robb said. "I started in Round 1 and had to surf four heats, so I worked hard for it. It wasn't just a matter of one day and I'm getting 10 grand. It was a matter of me putting the effort in the water, spending endless hours being the only girl out there and really getting to know the wave. I put the effort in and that's what really counts."
History was made at the event when 16-year-old Samukeliswe Cele (Durban) became the first female Zulu surfer to compete in a WSL event. Cele showed plenty of potential and finished third in her Quarterfinal.
"I'm grateful, excited and it was kind of nerve-wracking," Cele said. "I'm no pro and I was very nervous but I knew I could do something out there because I'm good surfer also."
Samukeliswe Cele
David van Zyl and Sam Cele breakdown the venue for the Corona Durban Surf Pro
WSL women's surfing returns to South Africa.
Ballito Women's Pro
Internationally rated women's surfing returns to the shores of South Africa for the first time since 2009.